That One Where She Tells You About Herself

My name is McKenna.

 

I just finished my 3rd semester at BYU-Idaho.
And lemme tell you- it was a blast. There is nothing like the combination of bitter, bitter cold, long nights in the library studying French- a language which I have never taken, occasional parties in stairwells, the Harry Potter premiere which I totally dressed up for AND made butter beer, pumpkin juice, pumpkin pasties, and chocolate frogs for, Macaroni and Cheese food storage, more long nights spent in the gym to work off the mac n' cheese, a roommate breaking her coccyx sledding, less-than-desirable quality of washer and dryer which make for disappearing socks and un-dried jeans, constant belting of the lyrics to Etta James "At Last" in our kitchen (eh em, Erika Larsson), slight Justin Bieber obsessions, learning about the cultural, social, economic, and political complexities of the country Pakistan, trying to figure out what my career calling is, and all in all surviving another semester in the city I like to call my winter wonderland- Rexburg, Idaho.              

  I have these girls to call my roommates

Yes, they are as wonderful as they look.

 

 

 

Three of these beauties have been with me since my first semester in the dorms. From the top row going left they are Karla, Erika, Stephanie, Me, Carly and Brindisi (pronounced Brin-da-cee. Get it right and give yourself a pat on the back, because sometimes people struuuuuugle)

Karla, Erika, Carly, and I started out at Kerr Hall together and have been super close ever since. They are pretty much my thick and thin. The cold winters of Rexburg does well in bonding people together.

 

I absolutely love my school. The classes are invigorating, the teachers are phenomenal people who have, for the majority, gone out and done incredible things then decided to come back and share their wisdom when they financially didn't necessarily need to, the campus is beautiful, inspiring and ever-growing. The construction on this pretty little building has just finished after 4 years of planning and adjustments:

Inside the BYU-I Center

It's the biggest building in Madison County (ok so that might not be saying much) and seats 15,000 people

 

 Yes we have no idea what it's doing in Rexburg, but we welcome it with open arms!

 This man came for a visit when the building was dedicated.

He is just lovely.

 Do you see the sliver of a man on the right? Uh-huh, him. And do you see a blurry image of a girl with long brown hair right above him with the microphone cutting right along her jaw.? Uh-huh, her.

Well guess what folks....

That blur would be me.

I had the opportunity of singing in the choir at the dedication, and I know that that blur is myself because the girl behind me was wearing that black dress with the red tank-top.

Cool, huh??

Well... you guys might not think so. But I believe it is awesome to be pictured with the 1st counselor of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Blur or no blur.(if you're currently asking yourself, church of holiday hoobie whattie? Edify your mind here ---> www.mormon.org)

ANYWAY

Back to me lovin my school.

All of that is fantastic and makes me really excited that I'm there at this awesome time with such amazing leaders and counselors to help usher me into my ever-nearing future. But the thing that I love absolutely the most about BYU-Idaho is the people. They come from all countries, all financial situations, all up-bringings, from plenty of different language barriers all seeking spiritual and educational knowledge at THIS PLACE. Which I consider to be a pretty big deal. I mean, it's Idaho were talking about here people!! It's a big deal that people choose to live here at all.

For the record, I have never been happier with any decisions in my life as I have been with the following: 

 

1. Choosing this campus to attend school

2. And dating this person right here

This is Matthew Grow. He is kind of wonderful, and I like him very much.
He hails from the East Coast and likes the Beatles, foreign languages, steak, and Argentina.
He never yells except out of joy or jest. I like that in a man.
He is currently studying International Relations and was just accepted to the Fast Grad program at BYU-I which means he will be going to school ALL YEAR ROUND. What a nut, huh?

But I like him anyway.

I'll post later about how his cool purple Nike swoop shoes attracted me to him and what has happened since, but for now just be content with the fact that all is swell with us :)

I would end my post with a cheesy "Hopefully you'll enjoy my words, life, blog etc. and yada-yada-yada..." But I'd rather not.

Hopefully I don't bore you all to death :)

Stay in school, and take as many pictures of your life as possible.